1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of computers and data processing systems. More particularly the invention relates to business practice and management applications. In still greater particularity, the invention relates to electronic classified advertising systems. By way of further characterization but not by way of limitation thereto, the invention is a buyer/advertiser interface for electronic classified advertising.
2. Description of the Related Art
Classified advertising has been utilized by the print media for many years. In particular, newspapers and magazines utilize this device to generate revenue from individuals or other relatively small sellers who could otherwise not afford to advertise goods and services they wish to sell. Classified advertising has also served buyers in allowing them access to goods or services from these individuals or small sellers. Classified advertising is also used by large volume sellers to reach users who look to such advertising for items such as homes or automobiles. Thus, classified advertising has proven very useful over the years in bringing buyers and sellers together.
Some publications such as newspapers have attempted to augment their printed classified advertising by offering telephonic electronic classified advertising. Electronic classified ads are intended to allow sellers of goods and services the ability to augment their print ad with an audio ad. Electronic classified advertising may solve many needs that are currently unmet by print ads alone. For example, the potential buyer can hear more detail about the product or service being offered than is included in the printed ad. Thus, the buyer is able to hear more detail without having to talk directly to the seller. The electronic ad can be updated frequently to show changes in price or availability of the goods and/or services. Advantages such as these allow the publication to have greater success in selling its classified ads.
Existing electronic classified advertising systems have thus helped publishers to sell their advertising, sellers to sell their goods and services, and buyers to purchase same. However, existing electronic classified advertising systems such as those using voice messaging systems have some limitations which inhibit their usefulness. Some existing systems utilize a standard voice mailbox interface which requires the buyer to call a telephone number each time he wishes to listen to an ad, be it the same ad or a different ad. These systems also play the ad only once and then require the buyer to leave a message for the seller, hang up or transfer to another mailbox. If the buyer wishes to hear other classified ads listed in the classified advertising publication, she must either wait until after the message prompt (either leaving a message or not) and dial a mailbox number to access each of those ads or, in some systems, he must hang up and call again.
One of the limitations of prior art electronic classified systems is their complexity and lack of flexibility. In general these systems are difficult to use. The easier the system is to use the more it will be used. Prior art systems allow a buyer to enter certain criteria which the buyer requires for the item he wishes to purchase. Once the user/buyer has entered these criteria these systems allow the buyer to xe2x80x9csavexe2x80x9d the search criteria in the system. These systems allow the user to store these criteria for a certain time period and to access the stored criteria from the system. These prior art systems delete the search criteria after a predetermined period of time. Even after accessing a saved search, if the user does not find the item in the system and wishes to keep searching as new items are added she must re-access the system each time (daily, weekly, etc.). Numerous fruitless searches and the resultant loss of time may result in the user abandoning the search.
The invention includes a method and instructions for allowing a buyer and advertiser to more easily interface with an electronic classified advertising system. The system allows the user to manipulate the list of ads to be played by deleting, saving, skipping forward or backward within an ad , and by employing a pause/resume option.
In order to facilitate contact of the user with the advertiser the system allows the users to press a key on the DTMF(Dual Tone Multifrequency) keypad to directly connect the user to the advertiser telephone listed in the ad without having to hang up and dial the telephone number.
In order to make the system easier to use by the advertiser, the system allows the advertiser direct access to his advertisement. Once the ad is placed in the system, the advertiser can access the system to listen to the ad for accuracy and completeness. When an advertiser wants to change, update or delete an ad they may press a predetermined key on the DTMF keypad to access the system or system operator to make the modification.
To prevent the buyer/user from having to listen to all of the ads available on the system, the buyer can input key search criteria on their touch-tone telephone keypad and listen to only those ads that meet their criteria. Examples of search criteria for automobiles are: vehicle make; model; year; and type. For homes or rentals the search criteria may include: number of bedrooms; number of bathrooms; price; and neighborhood. Buyers may also elect not to listen to ads without a price. At the user""s request, the system will save the buyer search criteria so it can be used in future searches on the system.
The improved electronic classified system of the present invention allows users the option of being notified if ads subsequently added to the system meet the saved search criteria. That is, as users listen to ads on the audio electronic classified service, the existing ads may not meet their personal preferences or search criteria. The user can request the system to save the search criteria as with prior art systems. Unlike prior art systems however, the user can request notification if an ad meeting the search criteria subsequently is added to the system. That is, as ads are added to the system, these new ads may meet the search criteria saved from a previous call by the user. The user may request the system to contact her by telephone or fax to advise her that an ad meeting her search criteria is now in the system.